Seeing Through the Mask
by Naimeria
Summary: Dean knows something's wrong with his brother. Sam does all he can to show Dean what that is. One-shot revolving around current plot.


**_Title:_** Seeing Through the Mask

**_Author:_** Naimeria

**_Warnings:_** Spoilers for the current season.

**_Author's Notes:_** I don't have a beta (if you're interested, feel free to contact me, as I would love one!), so all mistakes are mine.

Standard Disclaimer.

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_He_ _screamed and shouted, every nerve on fire. The swirl of color taunted him, greens and blues flickering before his eyes, only to be dwarfed by crimson and dark brown that he now associated with death and pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, the constant flow of moisture streaming down his cheeks. _

_He was broken, he knew. He hadn't surrendered, but he no longer fought the futile battle._

_His voice had been stripped from him long ago, the agonized screams for his brother combined with the ever-present fire tearing his throat to shreds. Still he writhed and tried to produce sound, not wanting to resign himself to his eternal fate. _

_He was naked in every sense of the word. Stripped of his clothes, his skin, his very purpose. All he knew was sorrow, pain, and longing. Longing to be anywhere but here. Though, in actuality, he knew now where 'here' was. _

_Sam didn't know he was no longer in Hell's cage. He was imprisoned in his own body, and that was enough of a cage to drive him mad._

_o0O0o_

Dean watched his brother, looking for any sign of weakness. Any sign of humanity. He had yet to find one. That odd little smile was always there, as though Sam was mocking him. No, not Sam. Whatever this thing was, it _was _mocking him. He wanted nothing more than to grab him and throw him against a wall, demanding to know where his brother was.

He almost did, too. But then Sam did that little head-cocking thing that he does when he's confused, and the puppy dog eyes sparkled, and a sliver of hope was restored.

Maybe Sam was just different, and he'd have to get used to it.

Sam had to do the same thing for him, after all.

_o0O0o_

_Sam screamed and clawed, kicked and punched until his fingers were twisted and his toes were bloodied. It never did any good, but he couldn't stop._

_Lucifer laughed. 'Look at him Sam.'_

_Lucifer had long since ceased the physical torture and had brought upon Sam the emotional sort. And this was, of course, seeing Dean talking and touching a body that wasn't his. _

_He couldn't feel any of it, none of it. Dean's face blurred, fresh tears falling. Sam screamed again, fought futilely against the injustice of it all._

"_You son of a BITCH, give him back to me!"_

_o0O0o_

Dean had taken upon watching Sam sleep again. It was something he hadn't done since Sam had been killed by Jake. He wasn't all that surprised he had taken up the habit again; when he'd returned from Hell, he had caught Sam watching him off and on for months.

His dark gaze locked onto Sam's still form, his scowl deepened. Sam didn't even sleep like he used to.

Whatever this was, it could lie to his face during the day, but it couldn't lie to him now.

_o0O0o_

_He was curled on his side, breathing erratic and limbs twitching helplessly. Lucifer was quiet, and Sam used that time to brace himself. He needed to stay strong. _

_He knew Dean was out there now. He didn't know if Lucifer saw his brother's doubt, and he didn't much care. The moment Sam had heard his brother's questions, Sam had all but cheered._

_Dean doubted him. He felt that something was wrong. That was a step in the right direction._

_o0O0o_

Dean ran a shaking hand through his hair. He still tasted the vampyric blood, still remembered the drive to drink. He still felt Sam's heart beating in his head, heard its steady rhythm reverberate through him. His Sam's heart should have been a staccato of panic, his face warped and his hands clenched as he babbled about what they could do to save him.

Dean didn't know what this was, but it wasn't Sam. And it was killing him.

_o0O0o_

_Sam had resumed his screaming. Dean had been infected, and Lucifer had made him stand there and watch. He felt his lips tug themselves into a smile. Sam didn't breathe again until he'd been cured - a miracle by any amount of standards. Lucifer laughed at his panic. The banished angel smiled at his brother, and Sam watched Dean's eyes flash through the blood and gore._

_Dean knew that whatever he was talking to, it wasn't his brother. And that was the only thing keeping Sam alive._

_**End**  
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_AN;;_ Wherein I express my firm belief that Sam, in the current season, is actually Lucifer. I've felt this way since the third episode of this season, but didn't get this written until now.

Please review, as I love feedback and they make my day. _  
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